Concerned for safety!

Anova Precision® Cooker
1

I had a 3lb boneless beef blade roast set to 135. I set it on in the morning, and for sure it was running for at least 10 hours. At some point in the night it turned off (water level dropped–I wasn’t warned this could happen!) and when I woke this morning the temp was cooled down to 69. I have no idea when it turned off.

The vacuum seal is intact.
I’ve turned it back on now and intend to leave it going for another 10-12 hours.

My questions are: Will it be safe to eat? How long does 3lb boneless beef need at 135 to be safe for consumption? And, is it okay that I’ve turned it back on to cook longer?

Thank you!

2

Before you do anything else, get a cover that keeps water in the pot, not moisture in the kitchen environment (or beyond) …silicone preferably.

Without sounding like a complete git, we all know about evaporation, if you put a pan on the stove over that duration would you check on it & also stick a lid on it for the same reasons, any cooking requires a degree of critical thinking after all, & there’s a big difference in both time & experience from a singular steak, eggs etc… & really those short cooks are the learning curve.

Any long cook if a decent seal is not in place will deplete the water level, yours clearly hit critical.

If you look around there is plenty of detail already in place as to the same dilemma hitting others in the same manner, including links to the essential reading (if not already done by yourself in links to Douglas Baldwin, these are littered all over as the same topic is a regular occurrence.

Grab a hot drink, take a look… (keywords throw up a lot)

& please, don’t rush headlong into big cooks until you’ve covered the basics across a few cooks, which is where evaporation also occurs & is often noticed first, via both pre-heat, cook, cool down & standing as an open pot, otherwise sadly lumps of valuable costly meat are for the bin / dogs.

135 F = 57.2 celcius
69 F = 20.56 celcius (i’m a brit so we use the “proper & correct” measurements (LOL)
That is a considerable drop over an indeterminate amount of time.

I personally would not risk it in light of what happened, as we are talking cooking to the core which likely happened midway (by estimation) not knowing how big / full the vessel, etc.

Mid cook failures are not worth your health, & if you finished the cook, chill cooled it properly to minimise risk, took it apart so at least you got an idea of how it went (experience, not a wound salt rub) chunked it for dogs & made sure it was properly heated through when fed in small portions (its very solid protein as much as anything) …neighbours / your dogs / cat will love you for your mistake…

Adjust the technique, take it on the chin, learn from the error, read the forum, (to find out you are not alone in this as much as anything) & get ready for a do over, be it stove or sous vide, fudge ups in cooking happen.

1 Like
3

Before you do anything else, get a cover that keeps water in the pot, not moisture in the kitchen environment (or beyond) silicone is my preference, insulator, easy clean, sound muffler, moisture retainer (if a good tight fit all over)

Without sounding like a complete git, we all know about evaporation, if you put a pan on the stove over that duration would you check on it & also stick a lid on it for the same reasons, any cooking requires a degree of critical thinking after all, & there’s a big difference in both time & experience from a singular steak, eggs etc… & really those short cooks are the learning curve.

Any long cook if a decent seal is not in place will deplete the water level, yours clearly hit critical.

If you look around there is plenty of detail already in place as to the same dilemma hitting others in the same manner, including links to the essential reading (if not already done by yourself in links to Douglas Baldwin, these are littered all over as the same topic is a regular occurrence.

Grab a hot drink, take a look… (keywords throw up a lot)

4

I believe that the cooker’s control head may be damaged by the evaporated moisture from the bath.

A Practical Guide to Sous Vide Cooking by Douglas Baldwin PhD (2001, CU, Applied Math)FREE ON-LINE

5

Hey Douglas, thank you.

I believe you are right. My device has turned itself off even when the water level was a-ok. I’m going to reach out to customer support I think.

6

This is why context is a necessity OP.

You stated the water dropped …indicating a need for filling & the unit stopped, common features.

Now you are stating the water level is A-ok ? …confusion abounds.

Depending on the age & generation of your model it has / doesn’t have a vent (early ones suffered condensation) …but this is why the later models are sealed units without a vent, to minimise that happening…

Want to give more details? dry your unit out & then start it in a pot of water with a decent covering that avoids condensate building up around the stem of the unit.

7

I had both situations occur. I had it stop due to water evaporation, and I’ve had it stop for now reason that seems obvious.

I will contact Avona to see what they suggest.

Thanks for all the help! :slight_smile:

8

Dry it out, hopefully you have a gentle radiant heat source & a plethora of silica gel bags.
Likely that is it in which case user error most likely caused it & can also be fixed by the user.

Anova CS are pretty useless at problem solving as they just use chat personnel whose product knowledge is not broad, which is in a way as to how I now own 4 Anova’s & have effected fixes on 2.

(useful units for small batch Beer In A Bag brewing which generally means an open pot with vapour & a little collar to dissuade condensation)

9

Awesome help Mr Gus! Thank you so much! I can do this for sure.

10

Let us know how you get on, because then IF after say a solid 3 days on top of a heater with silica gel bags (I don’t trust the rice process) then you can say “I took the logical steps” before a warranty claim or similar is contemplated,

Many have fixed theirs this way (ditto phones for several decades now right)!? & mostly success, so fingers crossed.

11

The problem with ‘sealed’ anything is that once moisture gets in it can’t get out. It enters as vapor, itself relatively harmless, but condenses to liquid which can cause corrosion. Moisture enters as vapor as temperature changes cause pressure changes in the volume of the control head of the stick, as temperature rises pressure increases and will vent somewhere. As the temperature falls the air volume will be replaced with moisture laden air.

Modern automobiles are boxes of ‘sealed’ computer Engine Control Units, and internal corrosion is a huge source of headaches. Mine auto provides dry air, ~3ºC dew point, heated to set temperature to the cabin. Other owners insist on running theirs like their GMC Humber and suffer the maintenance consequences.

Better than a heater with silica gel packs is a vacuum oven Re Dux Pro Drier or equivalent. I have a kit designed waiting to be purchased; a vacuum pump, chamber, heater for about $250, large enough for a SV stick.

12

Vdot, I’d like to ask you how old is your unit? Mine is several years old and I’ve learned to keep steam from the slots near the top/back of the unit (I’m defining front as the display). Otherwise sometimes the unit would give bonkers readings, although I’ve not had mine shut off. I first tied a kerchief around the unit, blocking the slots, then Anova got back to me saying they would prefer I keep the slots exposed so the unit can expel the internally generated heat. Additionally, they told me they now (maybe 2-3 years ago) passivate or coat the circuit boards to prevent condensation of the vapor onto the boards from affecting the electronics. My setup now has a sheet of plastic wrap blocking the steam from that side of the unit. But to your original question, I’d second others and agree it’s not worth risking eating it.

13

I agree with the cracking it open (assists drying) Furrier, however the amount of folk who likely feel ok about opening up a unit is probably 1 out of 10, regardless of warranty status having left (like elvis) the building long ago.

Whilst it is simple enough, there are only a couple of videos (which I’ve doubtless linked to before) the innards are pretty tightly packed, daunting for the layperson.

For proper archival context, what did they recommend exactly? conformal coatings?

OP, will throw my own link in for scrutiny, …good old instructables options, though I would go with the dedicated PCB varnish for the ability to solder through it if ever needed (e.g someone who scraps & keeps circuit board components for other projects it means you are not going to grab a lung full of poison heated by the solder tip due to hopefully saver design, cannot tell you the amount of numpties who I latterly found when applying a solder tip had “tried” superglue thus I was inhaling isocyanoacrylate type compounds, never fun.

14

Well Mr. Gus, Anova didn’t recommend anything except to say,“don’t block the slots,” perhaps also subtly hinting I should buy a new model. Although I’m experienced in PCB manufacturing, I wouldn’t want to try conformal coating myself, especially since I’ve got a satisfactory non-invasive solution. Thanks for your comments as always.

15

You would have thought that if they recommended it as a course of action they’d have found something they trusted enough to recommend, big difference between my technical dept who both listened to customer solutions & offered our own after testing so we could stand behind it.

I admit that the most common solution (lid) is a lot simpler than stripping it down, but it doesn’t stop us thinking (thankfully) & trying to address in the field problems regardless.

Wonder if anyone has tried a TYVEK breathable roofing fabric collar yet!? :thinking: